Applicant has previously developed a portable illumination assembly for use with vaginal specula, as described in International Publication Number WO 2006/121530A2. Prior to development of this assembly, tethered or corded illumination assemblies were required in order to effectively conduct patent examinations in conjunction with vaginal specula. The use of corded illumination assemblies, however, introduced issues relating to contamination, versatility and ease of use. The portable illumination assembly, according to the above-noted '530 publication, includes a resident power supply and a compact light source that are each integrated within a single housing, wherein the illumination assembly can be positioned at least partially within the elongated cavity of a vaginal speculum handle. When positioned within the cavity of the speculum handle, the illumination assembly optically couples with the proximal end of a light pipe that is formed in the upper portion of the cavity of the speculum handle. The light pipe is defined by a distal light-emitting end that directs sufficient light from the attached illuminator to a medical target (e.g., the cervix of the patient).
It has since been considered adding the above-noted illumination assembly to other hand-held medical diagnostic instruments in an effort to better facilitate examination of patients using such instruments, to improve versatility and ease of use of these instruments, as well as to standardize a family or group of instruments in terms of their consistency and construction. That is to say, most types of hand-held diagnostic instruments (e.g., ophthalmoscopes, otoscopes, anoscopes, sigmoidscopes, among others) utilize different forms of power sources and illumination assemblies that are more or less dedicated to the specific instrument. One aim is to standardize such use, thereby significantly increasing versatility while also providing an improved illuminator to facilitate visualization of an examination area by supplying brighter, whiter light to the patient.
It is further desired to improve ease of use of hand-held medical diagnostic instruments, while also solving issues such as cross contamination in the use thereof. In the use of tethered illumination assemblies, for example, a highly flexible disposable protective sheath or covering is required to prevent patient cross contamination with regard to the portion of the assembly and cord extending from the diagnostic instrument. Though effective in terms of this aim, there are subsidiary issues relating to having to provide an on-hand inventory of sheath members, as well as waste disposal and environmental concerns. Therefore, it is a general desire in the field to substantially minimize cross contamination of such assemblies to enable re-use of an illumination assembly between patients, but without requiring a separate sheath or covering.